NY Giants should target Ravens’ Matthew Judon in a trade
The NY Giants need a star pass rusher and the Baltimore Ravens are having a hard time working out a long-term deal with Matthew Judon; maybe the two teams can help each other.
From the beginning of the offseason, Ravens edge rusher Matthew Judon was on the top of my NY Giants free agency wishlist. Unfortunately, the team franchise tagged him as most expected even though they were tight on cap space.
It was a fairly easy decision based on how productive Judon has been and the fact that he’s still just making his way in the league as a young player – the sky is really the limit for him.
Entering his fifth season in the league, Judon has notched at least 7 sacks (including a career-high 9.5 in 2019) in each of the three seasons he’s been a starter in Baltimore.
So, you ask, what has changed now that would make the Ravens want to move on just a few short months later? Well, again, money. Reports have stated that talks have reached a stalemate between the two parties with Judon looking to be paid as a top-tier edge guy while the Ravens are standing firm on what they feel comfortable paying him — and it’s not that.
Our friend’s over at the Ebony Bird recently wrote a story giving an opinion on the top four trade destinations for Judon. Not surprisingly, the NY Giants were listed as the first option on that list as the trade makes a ton of sense for both sides.
As they point out, Judon is still young but he is a leader that would help bring along the younger Giants pass rushers. In addition, he’s just about the best pass rusher that’s potentially on the trade market, while Big Blue is in dire need of a true difference-maker on the outside edge.
Judon has proven during his short NFL career that he’s the real deal, coming from humble beginnings all the way to the Pro Bowl in 2019 while playing on the NFL’s best (regular season) team.
For what its worth, Judon did in fact sign his franchise tender a few days ago but tensions are still running high as he feels he’s still worth a long-term deal and wants to secure it right away.
In all likelihood, he’ll be playing for the Ravens in 2020, but if the NY Giants can swoop in with an offer that fancies the Ravens and pushes them off the ledge of wanting to invest $80-$100M in Judon, it’s possible something could be worked out.
What would the compensation look like?
A player of Matthew Judon’s caliber isn’t going to come cheap, but since he’s got a $16M cap number for 2020 and isn’t signed past this season, his value is a bit compromised. The NY Giants may be able to steal him for a package of a second-round pick and a later-round pick.
The Ravens have just $7M dollars available in cap space with numerous important contract extensions coming up in future years. Also, the team is aging in a few areas and will have to replace a lot of the talent it’s already lost and will lose over the next season or two.
Next. 5 Giants that could be released before 2020. dark
Maybe they’d rather take a shot at an edge rusher in the second round in next year’ draft, save $16M and go from there. The Ravens have made their bones in this league by crushing the NFL Draft, so I don’t doubt that they would believe they could find another Matthew Judon — or something close to him.